


again, but better

by werelocked



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-24 09:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18568906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/werelocked/pseuds/werelocked
Summary: The Hargreeves saved the world, and more importantly, each otherThey had a second chance to do it right, but that doesn't mean they still had any idea what they were doing





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> dedicated as always to the Kliego discord ❤  
> this idea came out of nowhere and took me for a ride

Morning hit slowly in an old, brown brick building. On the top floor, a grizzled older man unlocked the front doors to let in the athletes waiting outside. They took places in the boxing rings scattered around the room.

In the basement underneath, Diego opened his eyes to the familiar sounds of the gym coming to life. After a languid stretch, he slipped out of bed to go use the showers before they were overrun by sweaty men post-workout. On the way back to his makeshift boiler-room-slash-apartment, Lou passed on a newspaper and a message. He padded back into his room with a towel around his waist and locked the door behind him.

Diego tossed the newspaper on his pillow. Movement under the covers made the bedsprings creak. He flipped up a corner of the sheets. “Good morning.”

“Too early,” Klaus yawned and sat up, all sleep-rumpled curls and bleary eyes. Diego couldn’t help himself. He leaned down to kiss his forehead, and Klaus wrinkled his nose at the droplets that landed on him from Diego’s wet hair.

“Get up. I’ll paint your nails.” Klaus gave a delighted smile when he sat on the edge of the bed. He grabbed a few bottles off the nightstand. “Which shade?”

“I’m feeling neon green,” Klaus hummed. “And don’t forget the toes.” Diego got right to work.

It didn’t take long to paint Klaus’s nails, thanks to all the past practice. He could let his mind wander. Halfway through doing the right foot, he nudged Diego’s calf with his left. “Hey, where’d you go? Come back to me.”

Diego blinked. His thoughts had dragged him far away from the moment and he wasn’t surprised Klaus could read it on his face. “Allison called. It happened.” He gestured to the newspaper on the pillow and finished up the job while Klaus read the front page story.

**City says goodbye to Reginald Hargreeves**

**U.A founder found dead**

“Well, shit. Who could’ve seen that coming?” It wasn’t clear whether Klaus was being sarcastic.

“The funeral’s in two days, but Luther wants everyone to come as soon as they can.”

“Do I have to go? Dad was the worst,” Klaus whined. He fussed with a pillowcase until Diego took his hand and laced their fingers together.

“Of course not, sweetheart. You can skip the whole thing, unless you just want to blow off the public send-off but be there for the family ceremony.”

“I guess there’s no use asking you to stay until then, too?” Klaus guessed, pouting. He didn’t bother waiting for a reply. “How soon are you leaving?”

“I’ll drop by later today. Allison has Vanya and Luther with her, so someone’s gotta make sure Luther didn’t shove Mom into a supply closet somewhere, or sell her for parts. Or something.” He tried to make the joke light but Klaus saw right through him.

“Luther wouldn’t do that.” At his disbelieving look, Klaus backtracked. “Pogo wouldn’t let that happen.”

Diego brought their entwined hands up and kissed his knuckles. Klaus slipped his hand free and cupped Diego’s cheek, fingers warm against his jaw. Diego parted his mouth slightly, brushing his lips against Klaus’s thumb.

Bright green eyes darkened in response. Klaus pulled back completely, and Diego barely stopped himself from chasing after him. He fell back into the pillows, blankets pooled around his waist. “Now tell me, is it hot in here or is it just you?”

And shit, that shouldn’t have been so hot. Shouldn’t have been hot, _period._  But coupled with the looseness lingering in his body from last night’s activities and the teasing glint in Klaus’ eyes, it was too much. Klaus had the smile he wore when he was fully aware of his own ridiculousness, and fully aware Diego was helpless against it.

Diego was also suddenly _very aware_ he was in nothing but a towel.

The next thing he knew, he was in Klaus’ arms without much else persuasion. In fact, Klaus didn’t seem interested in putting in more effort, letting Diego do all the work. He didn’t mind. He loved having Klaus under him like this, taking him apart as slow as he wanted. They had all the time in the world.

Several moments later, they collapsed into each other. “Ew, now _I_ need a shower.” Klaus wrinkled his nose. He had curled into Diego’s side, head resting on his chest.

“Better hurry up if you wanna beat the rush.” Still, neither of them wanted to move.

“We should invest in a tub, like the one at home.”

So he was still thinking about it. Diego absently stroked a hand down Klaus’ spine. “Have you decided what you want to do?”

Klaus made a face. He didn’t stop tracing random shapes and letters against his skin. “I don’t want to do it for him. Not after everything he did to us, did to Ben. It’s his fault -” Klaus froze mid-drawing, clenching and unclenching his fist. “But I do miss everyone. I guess I can make an appearance.”

It had been a while since the last family get-together. Although they had spectacularly failed their first attempt at preventing the apocalypse, Five’s quick thinking had presented them with a second chance. They could make it up to the world, and each other. Some of the reparations took the form of bi-weekly family dinners, to bond and report any potential clues of imminent destruction. Five took their information and fed it directly to a task force he created, because of course he did.

“Ben doesn’t blame dad.” Diego reminded Klaus. “If you don’t believe me, ask him yourself.”

“No, Ben’s with Five. You know how they get when they start going on about equations. Best not to disturb them.”

Diego knew Ben had been recruited to join Five’s task force. While the rest of them mostly contributed by keeping an eye out for trouble, Ben helped figure out the mathematical side of Five’s travels through space - and less frequently - time. The two of them even recruited a handful of people in other cities to help protect the timeline.

It wasn’t an exact science. They couldn’t perfect everything, much as Five tried his hardest. He’d noticed from his time with the Commission that some things seemed meant to happen. Events that, even if an agent had been trying to mess with them, would find a way to bounce back and happen anyway. Nobody knew why. Large historical milestones like the moon landing still happened, as well as smaller events too. Like Reginald, apparently. Dear old dad was meant to pass on and orphan his ‘children.’

“You’ll get to see him at the funeral.” A flicker of unease crossed Klaus’ face and Diego understood. Though this time they refused to be pitted against each other and were fiercely protective of Vanya - and Ben - Reginald had been no less horrible this time around. Plus, he knew Klaus would forever hold the old man responsible for Ben’s original death.

Diego couldn’t imagine how strange it must have been, going from being constantly tethered to their dead brother for so long to suddenly being cut off. He knew Klaus tried to give Ben space, so as not to be too much. For his sake, Diego made a note to check up on Ben first.

Extricating himself from Klaus was difficult. He didn’t want to leave behind the warmth of the bed, much less the other’s slow, lingering kisses. “Don’t wait up,” he murmured against Klaus’ mouth. “Be back tomorrow, at the latest.”

Klaus sucked Diego’s lower lip into his mouth and Diego’s knees went weak. He bit it teasingly before letting go. “Don’t make me come after you.”

“I’m sure you’ll find ways to… entertain yourself while I’m gone.” Diego smirked. Klaus simply winked and flopped back into bed while Diego got dressed.

The drive to the Academy was quick. He parked on the street and Pogo met him at the door.

“Good evening, Master Diego.” His tone was somber, eyebrows pulled low over his face.

“Hey, Pogo. How are you holding up? How’s mom?”

“We are doing well, despite the circumstances.” Pogo could possibly be the only creature to genuinely mourn the old man. Unlike Hargreeves’ children, Diego knew Pogo only ever put value in being another one of his father’s creations.

It was that knowledge that kept them from confiding much information about the not-quite-averted apocalypse to anyone. They’d barely told Reginald himself anything more than he needed to know. Much as they knew Pogo cared, it did them well to remember who it was he really answered to.

Pogo informed him that Grace was tidying around the first floor, but he decided to check upstairs first. Ben was sitting at his desk in his room, scribbling away in a notebook. Diego knocked gently against the doorframe. “Hey, bro.”

“Diego, hey!” Ben perked up. “Is Klaus with you?”

“Nah, he needed some time to process. Where’s Five?”

Ben shrugged. “There was some kind of emergency with the task force a few miles away. Said he’d be back soon.”

“Sweet, well if you’re not busy, Klaus was about to order some pizza when I left.” Judging by the way Ben’s eyes lit up, it was clear Klaus wasn’t the only one who missed their one-on-one time. “How’s all that going anyway?” Diego waved a hand to encompass the piles of books and notebooks, organized neatly on the desk.

“Not bad. We’ve made progress, I think. Five’s just hesitant to try time traveling after the first time went so bad for us.”

Diego understood. “Nobody’s pushing him.”

“He wants to keep us safe.” His brother rolled his eyes, like he was repeating Five’s words, and he wondered how many times the two of them had this argument.

“That includes him.” Ben only nodded.

Diego left his room to head back downstairs. Grace was in the laundry room, folding clothes and humming to herself. “Hey, mom.”

“Welcome home, darling.” She wrapped her arms around him. The scents of fabric softener and flowery perfume enveloped him. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you.”

“We went to the park together just last week.” Diego reminded her, kissing her cheek.

Grace nodded brightly. “Of course.” He left her to her housekeeping and went into the living room. Allison and Luther were sitting on one of the couches. They were sitting noticeably apart from each other, their bodies stiff.

That was new.

Last he’d heard, their on-again-off-again relationship had been in full force. Neither of them were interested in anyone else, they only seemed to struggle with understanding how good things could happen to them, and that they could actually last. It was a true sentiment for the family as a whole, really. Some wounds were still too fresh. It’s why they had been slow to stand together as a family, still making mistakes, still healing. They were all the same people, only now they were allowed to be themselves more openly.

They were all aware they loved each other - though that admission had only been pried out of Five after several margarita and taco nights. One such night had been the reason Klaus and Diego had realized they loved each other a little differently than the rest of their family.

It had been too much for Klaus, at one point. Three months in he’d bolted, and Diego found himself tuned to his police radio with the intensity from before they’d gotten together. Desperately listening for calls coming in describing someone with a lean frame and curly hair. His heart jumping whenever ‘identifying features’ like tattoos were mentioned.

It was a long four days. Diego had taken his nervous energy out on even the most petty criminals lurking around the city. On the last day, he’d dragged himself home from a rough night and rougher fight. All the manic energy drained away the moment he saw Klaus sitting against the door of his room, a bag of Chinese food at his feet. They were back together by morning.

Diego hoped the same would be true for his siblings. “Hey, guys.” He waved awkwardly.

Turning away from her strained whispering with Luther, Allison smiled at him. Her body relaxed. “Hey, bro.”

“Welcome home.” Luther nodded in greeting. They chatted for a little bit, catching up on the last few days. Ben wandered in to catch Allison’s reminder for Vanya’s upcoming recital.

“Do you guys want donuts?” He asked. “Figured I’d pick some up for Klaus on the way.”

“Sure, might as well stock up on coffee for when Five gets back,” Luther agreed. Allison went to go find their sister and the four of them climbed into Diego’s car. Everyone rolled the windows down and sang along to some upbeat song on the radio.

Once they arrived at Griddy’s they piled into a booth by the counter. Ben got his doughnuts in a doggy bag and sat with them for a bit while Allison and Diego sipped their coffee. After he left they didn’t stay much longer; Vanya ordered a few more doughnuts to take home for whenever Five popped up.

When they returned to the mansion, Diego said goodnight to his siblings and headed off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day Diego woke up early. Being home was strange, waking up alone even more so. It had been less than a day, and already he wanted to go back home to Klaus. He wondered if Klaus already missed him, too.

He wandered downstairs to the kitchen, where Grace was already scrambling some eggs for breakfast. Vanya sat at the table, looking over some sheet music. “Still no sign of Five? Ben?” She shook her head. “What are you up to today?”

“Thought I’d go down to the theater to practice a bit.”

“Cool, cool. There’s a fight down at the gym tonight, Klaus and I were thinking of watching, if you want to come?”

Vanya gave him a small smile. “Not today. But I’ll catch your next one, okay?”

“Gotcha.” Diego finished his breakfast.

Allison entered the kitchen, wearing a pink sports bra with matching leggings. “Anyone up for a run?” Vanya slowly hid her face behind her sheet music. Diego stood up and, feeling awkward, patted her on the shoulder as he followed their sister out.

If Diego thought the run was an excuse for Allison to vent to someone about whatever was going on with her and Luther, he was dead wrong. After a short warm-up, she led him on a long route out of the neighborhood and around the city, like she was trying to escape her thoughts, and everything else.

“S-s-slow down,” Diego gasped from where he was hunched over, hands on his knees. Allison continued a little further down the road before jogging back to him.

“Can’t keep up, bro?” Allison teased. “Thought this is what you did, or didn’t you tell us you ran these streets?” Diego huffed a laugh and pushed her. She dodged and swung out, dancing around him and landing light hits. “Come on!”

Diego gently caught her wrist. She fidgeted like she wanted to keep moving, not looking at his face. He waited until she finally made eye contact. “What’s going on? Is it Luther? Dad?”

Her face fell slightly. “It’s nothing. Just - it’s - Five?”

“Five?” Had she also talked with Ben, and shared their worry over their little brother? But Allison only pointed over his shoulder. He turned and noticed a black van - that was on fire. They both recognized the plumbing logo on the side in the same instant. Wordlessly, they moved towards it together. Diego scanned for any civilians nearby while Allison checked for any passengers.

“We’ve gotta find him.” She rounded the backside of the truck, her eyes wide. Diego began to reply when a loud sound cut him off.

Sirens.

“Go.” Allison made to protest and he shoved her. “ _Go_! Find him!”

A cop car pulled up just as she sprinted off. Two male officers climbed out, speaking into their radios. _“Responding to civilian call reporting suspicious person tampering with a vehicle. Vehicle ablaze, potential burglary, no victims in sight.”_

“Sir, is this your vehicle?” One of them asked.

“No, but-”

A voice behind him cut him off. “Sir, step away from the vehicle.” He turned around, and found Detective Eudora Patch standing right behind him. The passenger side of a second police car opened and her partner stepped out. Beaman.

“Dora-”

“Diego.” Patch raised one eyebrow. “Why am I not surprised to find you at a crime scene?”

“I’m not on duty, Dora. This is my brother’s van.”

Her eyes narrowed at the nickname, and even further at the admission. “Have you been in contact with him? Where did you last see him?”

“A few days ago. He said he was going to be out of town for a few days. But my brother said he was on his way back for our dad’s funeral.”

“Do you know anyone who might want to harm your brother?” Diego balked glancing around, and she sighed. “Right.”

“I can tell you anything you want to know, I’ve just gotta go home. Gotta check on my siblings. Come with me.”

Patch nodded and turned to Beaman. “Take care of this. I’ll see if I can find out more information and we’ll reconvene at the station.” She and Diego climbed into Patch’s cruiser and set off for the Academy.

“So what do you know?” Patch demanded. “Where’s Five? I saw him at the task force meeting _two days_ ago and he was fine.”

“Ben said he was called away to deal with some business. But he _teleported_ , and he’s been gone since yesterday I don’t know why his van would be out here.”

“We need to talk to Ben, see if he knows Five’s location. We can start our search there.”

“We? You coming with me? Aren’t there some forms you need to fill out or something?” Diego asked.

“You _want_ to walk three miles home?” She smiled at him, but he couldn’t return it. “Don’t freak out on me, Hargreeves. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“Gotta check on Klaus. Ben went over, maybe he’s still there.”

“I’d rather check the Academy first, if that’s alright with you. See if there are any clues to where Five might be or why someone wanted to destroy his van.”

Diego agreed, for no reason other than to get in and out, and get to Klaus quicker.

By the time they reached the house, Allison had everyone gathered in the living room. Diego made eye contact with her and she nodded once. “Ben knew where Five was, he called us. He’s alright.” Relief crashed over him instantly. “He said he’s staying put for right now, and that it might be best to pair up and keep an eye on each other.”

“Ben’s with Klaus,” Luther added. He took a step closer to Allison beside him, whose eyes flickered to Vanya. Diego himself shifted towards Eudora. Last time things got weird, two of them had almost not made it out alive. Two of them hadn’t made it out at all.

Patch nodded briskly. “Lockdown, got it. Might as well make the most of it, what do you all do for fun around here?” Diego and his siblings were quiet for an embarrassingly long time. She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m going to need a drink.”

After showing her to the wet bar that Five kept well stocked, Diego went to call Klaus.

“Hey baby, everything alright over there?”

The line was quiet for a moment before he heard Ben call out, “He’s sulking!”

“Am not!” Klaus shouted, his voice muffled. “Everything over here is just peachy, darling. Are you coming home?”

“Gotta lay low for a while. Patch is here with us, we’re all going a little crazy.” Diego made a face at nothing. “Told you not to wait up for me, sweetheart.”

“And I told you not to make me come after you.” Klaus reminded him. The sound of muffled scuffling came again. “But I’m totally not needy, and can _so_ last one day without you, no matter what Ben says.”

He laughed. “Well, still promised I’d be home tonight. Even if I have to sneak out of the house to do it.” The others probably wouldn’t like the idea, but Diego knew his limits. The longer he went without having Klaus close when there was potential danger, the closer those limits were to being surpassed.

“Just like old times.” Klaus hummed. “Just don’t break your leg climbing down the drain pipe again, okay dearest?”

“Sure, ok. See you soon, gorgeous.” Klaus made loud kissy noises into the phone, or maybe that was Ben. He hung up and went to join the others.

Everyone seemed a little nervous, eying the clock on the wall. Diego found himself glancing at the door at the slightest noise, though logically he knew none of his brothers would be coming through any time soon.

Eudora started passing out drinks and for the next few hours, they drank and talked. Grace brought in snacks every now and then, but everyone was mostly content with drinking to prevent cabin fever from setting in.

“Five’s gonna be mad we drank all his alcohol.” Vanya mused, looking into her empty glass.

“Please,” Allison hiccuped, “Five’s gonna be pissed we made margaritas without him.”

“I haven’t known him as long, but I feel she like has a point,” Eudora agreed, taking a swig from her beer. Diego grinned. It was nice, knowing she was safe with them. Having her around his family in a way they didn’t get to do the first time. There had been no meeting the parents or siblings when they had been dating.

What a great idea, Diego realized. He pulled Dora away from the group and began to give her a tour, stumbling around the house together. Grace was in her little corner of the living room, practicing her needlepoint.

“Mom, this is my friend Eudora.” Dora stood up straight, only swaying a little on her feet. She reached for a handshake but Grace pulled her into a hug.

“Lovely to meet you. Diego’s told me a lot about you.”

“Isn’t he the sweetest?” Grace pulled away and beamed at him proudly. “Will you be staying for dinner? What can I make for you?”

“Oh, I couldn’t.” Dora looked flushed at the offer.

“She likes some fancy chicken pasta. We can help you make it.”

Dora rolled her eyes. “Chicken fettuccine alfredo is hardly fancy, Diego. Not all of us can survive off ramen noodles for six days straight.”

Grace smiled at them indulgently. “Of course. I’d love the company.”

As much as Diego had wanted to help, company was really the most the two of them could offer in their inebriated state. He sat up on a kitchen counter glaring and drinking another beer while Eudora and his mom swapped embarrassing stories about him. Grace didn’t have many. Dora had loads.

Once dinner was ready, she was more than happy to share those stories with the rest of his family as well. Halfway through, they got a call from Five.

“He’ll be here early for the funeral. Says he’s still unsure what happened, but we should be alright.” Vanya reported.

“Might’ve been a false alarm.” Dora shrugged. “Just regular vandalism. I can check with what Beaman found out.” She stood up as if ready to go down to the police station that very moment.

Diego checked the time. “It’s late, let it wait until the morning.” His siblings all nodded in agreement. Most of them were bleary-eyed, whether from alcohol or sleepiness, it was hard to say. Vanya waved and drifted off to her room, and Luther ambled away too. Eudora opened her mouth, but Allison took her hand and tugged her down the hall. She shot him a confused look but he only laughed.

Once he made sure his siblings were in their rooms, he kissed Grace goodnight and stumbled off to his bed. He crashed before his head even hit the pillow.

 

The next day was sunny. No rain, not even a cloud in sight to darken the day of Reginald’s funeral.

Patch left early, eager to see what Beaman found out. She thanked the siblings at breakfast and promised to check up on them later. An hour after she left, a knock sounded on the front door. Diego answered to find Ben and Klaus on the other side.

“Welcome home.” Diego grinned. “Hope you found my rooms to your liking.”

“I don’t know how you can stand living there.” Ben wrinkled his nose and pushed past him. “Feel like I need a three-hour shower to scrub the smell of sweat off me.”

Opening his mouth to reply, the words died in his throat when he caught sight of Klaus. “How do I look?”

Diego took him in. Klaus wore a black high-waisted wrap skirt that brushed his knees, and black boots. A simple black shirt was knotted at the waist. “Gorgeous.” He breathed, tugging him close. He brushed his lips against his cheek before catching Klaus’ lips. “Dad would hate it.”

With a laugh, Klaus wrapped his arms around him and kissed him again. Diego had to resist the urge to do something else dad would hate, against the open doorway for the world to see. He took Klaus’ hand and led him to the living room. “Missed you, baby. What did you do all last night?”

Klaus gave him an odd look. “Just hung out with Ben. How’d it go with Patch and the others?”

The question was perfectly innocent. Why, then, did it send a stab of guilt through him? Diego said nothing, holding Klaus' patient gaze while he thought it through. “Babe?” Klaus squeezed his hand. “I - I t-t-think I might still have feelings for Eudora.”

There was no shock on Klaus’ face. “Of course you do, darling. If you didn’t, you would’ve come back to me.”

That didn’t sit right with him either, but Diego bit his tongue. If their last world - or this new one - proved anything, it was that nothing could keep him away from Klaus. Not even when they were children. But he didn’t think it would do either of them any good to say so.

“I-I don’t - it was only dinner-”

“It’s okay, Diego. We’ll talk about this later. We can work it out.” Klaus shushed him, stroking his cheek. “It’ll be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just realized my chapters follow a lot of the same formula: start with them waking up and end with them going to sleep. cool cool cool cool cool  
> tune in next time for probably more of the same. thanks for reading ❤❤

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed ❤ any feedback is appreciated


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